


Revelations

by Lost_in_a_dream



Category: Young Justice (Cartoon), Young Justice (Comics), Young Justice - All Media Types
Genre: Aliens, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, DaddyBats, F/M, Gotham, Heist, M/M, Multi, Protective Bruce Wayne, Protective Team, Season 1, Shooting, powers!Robin
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-19
Updated: 2020-05-02
Packaged: 2020-05-14 19:26:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 17
Words: 19,051
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19279612
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lost_in_a_dream/pseuds/Lost_in_a_dream
Summary: Secrets are kept in the dark for a reason. After a mission, gone wrong one of  Robin's greatest secrets are brought into the light. Trusts are broken, feelings will surface, and the past will be unraveled.Posted originally in Wattpad





	1. Chapter 1

The harsh, cold wind blew through the dark street of Gotham City. The streets were deserted, not a single car nor person to be seen, there would be occasional barks from dogs and hisses from the cats that lived on the streets. Some of the dumpsters would topple over and collapse thanks to the frequent catfights. The city was barely lit that darkness consumed most of the city, especially at the abandoned warehouse.

The team could barely see anything from the catwalk that was completely covered by the shadows. The warehouse they were in was a machine factory that made powerful and heavy duty machinery and was known to make robot parts but was later shut down when the machines made started malfunctioning all of the sudden. The owner of the machinery didn't have enough money to clear and remove the machines used and some unsold machinery and parts so now it's just an untouched warehouse.

The team was supposed to stop a trade that was supposed “world threatening” based on the intel the Justice League received. Even though it sounded unreal since that was basically almost every evil scheme of every villain, the League couldn't take any chances so they sent the team to the location stated in the anonymous tip.

“How the hell are we supposed to know if they are here?!” Wally yelled in the mind-link. “We can barely see anything except for Rob over here! How the hell can you see anything?!”

“Well, this is Gotham. He’s probably used to this already,” Zatanna replied.

“Yeah, the kid grew up here and started being a superhero at the age of nine, what do you expect?” Rocket added. “And he is called the Boy Wonder for a reason.”

“Can you guys stop talking like I’m not here,” Robin sighed in the mind-link still looking below the catwalk and looking for any signs that the traders were there. The mind-link was silenced once more with a sigh from Wally.

“Why are we here again if the League isn't sure if the intel given to them were real or not? Some of us have better stuff to do,” Superboy growled.

Artemis rolled her eyes at the clone. “Like what? Watch more static?”

Superboy turned and glared at the archer. “Well unlike me, you are just a-”

“They’re here,” Robin cut off Superboy and leaned further to see from the catwalk.

“Did you bring the disk?”

The voice echoed throughout the warehouse. The voice was low and gruff and had a bit of a Russian accent. The owner of the voice is most likely over 30.

“Yeah, did you bring your end of the bargain?”

This voice was soft, the group of superheroes barely heard it but the voice had a heavy American accent and also a hint of a Spanish.

“Why of course, don't you trust me?”

“Good, now hand it over.”

“Go!” Aqualad yelled in the mind-link.

Robin smirked and let out his signature cackle and flipped over the railings and dived down. The rest of the team jumped down after him, used to this already.

Once they landed on the ground, the rest of the team managed to see the two dealers.

The first man was holding a floppy disk and wore a suit and even had a blue necktie and fedora. His other hand went under his jacket and brought out a gun, pointing it in Robin’s direction.

“A floppy disk? Really? That guy needs to get out more, like what year is he living in? 1998?”

“Oh for the love of-, just shut the hell up!”

“How did you find us?!” The second man screamed in shock. This one wore a black hoodie, gray sweatpants, and a baseball cap. His left hand outstretched to get the floppy disc while his other hand was holding a metal baseball bat. He raised his metal bat pointing towards the heroes.

Robin cackled in response and started sprinting towards the two not caring if there was a gun pointed at him.

“Robin! Wait!” Aqualad yelled in the mind link but the Boy Wonder was too focused on ending this already. Robin was off the edge the whole time since Batman told them that the mission was in Gotham.

The first guy started shooting at the thirteen-year-old but he just started dodging it like it was no big deal. Once the first guy noticed that he was doing nothing he quickly pulled out a remote and pressed a couple of buttons and the next thing they knew the building exploded.


	2. Chapter 2

The pillar of fiery smoke and dust, still boiling up from where the bombs had gone off, was being violently agitated at the bottom. A series of new clashes broke out, lifting and spreading the cloud of smoke and dust as tremors rocked the warehouse, making more pillars and ruble collapse, and then a great gush of flame rose.

The sky was painted red. Not the red that represented love and passion, no, it was the type of red that represented blood, fire, and danger. Smoke rose up to the night sky looking as if it was dancing. Ashes were raining down as if it was rain.

Twenty feet away from where Robin laid, one of the pillars that were supporting the warehouse crumbled and collapsed as another tremor rocked the whole place. Robin blinked his eyes open, trying to let his vision adjust. It was hot, the fire was everywhere and the smoke was filling the whole place. He had to get out, and fast, but not without the rest of the team.

Despite his headache and the loud ringing in his ears, Robin stood up from where he laid. He tried to focus but his head was pounding so much, it felt like it was going to split into two. The ringing in his ears and sounds of falling rubble and concrete falling heavily on the ground only made his headache worse. His vision was blurry and the smoke only made it worse. His lungs were on fire, he tried to breathe but only managed to inhale smoke making him cough. He held a hand to his head hoping to make his headache and dizziness subside. He closed his eyes trying to make the ringing in his ears stop. When it finally did that’s when he realized the shouts of his friends.

“Robin! Robin! Where are you?!”  
“Rob! DUDE! Where are you?! Are you okay?! Are you hurt?! Rob, please answer me! Why haven’t you found him yet?!”  
“I can’t hear him over this noise! And we also have to worry about Miss Martian and Aqualad!”  
“Robin! If you can hear us please give us a sign!”  
“Superboy! Get Aqualad and Miss Martian out off here!”

Robin tried to shout hoping that they could hear him but he just ended up inhaling more smoke making him have a coughing fit. His vision blurred more and the world tipped to the side. Before his brain could comprehend what was going on, he fell to his side making him grunt as his body ached in protest. He doesn’t know how long he stayed on his side but he does know is that he needed to get out of there or at least make the team aware where he was. He tried to locate where his teammates are by trying to locate where their voice was coming from.

‘If I don’t get out of here soon, I’m toast, literally.’ Robin thought as he noticed that it was becoming more hot and harder to breathe. He tried to focus more on locating where the shouts of his teammates were coming from. ‘There!’

No wonder why they didn’t find him yet, a part of the roof fell in between him and the rest of the team.

‘This just got a whole hell harder.’ Robin mentally groaned as he remembered that he ran out of exploding batarangs during the last mission and he had no time to restock. ‘Wait! Hopefully, Miss M is okay now!’

“Miss M! Can you hear me?!” Robin winced when he heard his voice, even if it was just in his head, it sounded his lungs were charred and his vocal cords were so rough that it actually became hoarse. But on a better note, it means that Miss M is okay.

“Robin?! Where are you and the others?! I can’t seem to reach them, their voices were too loud and they couldn’t seem to hear me with all the things that were running through their heads! I just woke up a few minutes ago outside with Aqualad with me! He needs water soon, I’m calling the Bioship right now!”

Robin sighed in relief when he heard Miss M in the mind-link but her shouting in his head only made his headache worse and he could hear how scared and worried she was.

“Calm down, Miss M! I really need you to keep trying to contact the others! I’m separated from them and I have no way to get in touch with them!”

Miss M seemed to calm down and let it sink in for a moment and replied.

“Okay, I would need to cut you off tho just in case their emotions get too overwhelming. I’ll add you to the mind link when everything is better!”

“It’s not like I have much anywhere to go,” Robin replied. He felt the mind-link break just when another piece of debris fell two feet from where he was. Miss M better hurry or all the team was gonna find is a pancaked or burned Robin and that doesn’t sound quite good if you ask him. There was always plan Z but he swore to never use it… especially not now.


	3. Chapter 3

“TEAM! CAN YOU HEAR ME?!”

Miss Martian placed her unconscious leader on her lap to at least get him more comfortable. She tried to clear her mind and locate the brainwaves of the rest of the team. She gasped in shocked when she found them, their brainwaves were all over the place! Filled with determination, Miss Martian established the mind-link with them not caring if she could be overwhelmed by their thoughts like last time. 

Zatanna’s voiced replied to her, her voice full of relief but still had a hind of anxiousness. “Miss Martian! You’re alright!”

Before Miss Martian can reply Kid Flash’s voice yelled through the mind-link.

“MEGAN! CAN YOU LOCATE ROBIN?! WE CAN’T FIND HIM?! IS HE ALRIGHT?!”

Miss M winced by how loud Kid Flash yelled and the emotions he was giving off was so overwhelming. She snapped out of it when his words finally sunk in, and he made a slip by calling her by her secret identity but Miss M didn’t feel worried if someone could have highjacked the mind-link but worried because he didn’t even realize his slip up, showing how worried he was for the boy wonder.

“He’s fine, Kid Flash,” Miss M started but at the same time she’s not sure if Robin is one hundred percent okay. “He was the one who contacted me through a mind-link, he said he’s stuck but otherwise okay. He has no way of escape though, he’s at the wall to your right, break it and he should be there.”  
Superboy didn’t even have to be told. He walked towards the huge piece of debris and was preparing to punch it when Miss Martian yelled.

“Wait! Don’t punch it! If you punch it, some debris can break and fall on Robin!”

Superboy lowered his arm with a sigh. He wanted to vent his anger of those men exploding the place but not at the cost of one of his teammates going to be crushed.

Zatanna stepped forward and chanted a spell.

“Etativel sirbed dna ekam ti kaerb ot ynam seceip!”

The huge debris levitated and was thrown to the side and broke into smaller pieces. The rest of the team saw Robin collapsed on the ground, his cape covering his mouth so the thirteen-year-old won’t breathe in the smoke.

Kid Flash zoomed his way to Robin’s side and fell on his knees.

“Hey D- Rob? Can you hear me? Are you okay?”

When the rest of the team came up beside the speedster and the boy wonder, Robin was laying on Kid Flash’s lap and that Kid Flash was vibrating so much that if he continued to vibrate more, he could vibrate through the floor. Robin was passed out and didn’t even twitch when something collapsed twenty foot away from them.

Artemis quickly crouched down beside Kid Flash and pressed two of her fingers on Robin’s temple. “His heartbeat is slow, we got to get out of here and bring him to the mountain!”

Kid Flash quickly stood up while carrying Robin bridal style. He was about to run out of the place with their youngest member but then he remembered, the walls collapsed and the only way out was up and he couldn’t run up the walls while carrying Robin and there wasn’t enough space to get a running start to get enough momentum to run on the walls.  
Superboy stepped forward and was about to get Robin out of Kid Flash’s arms but Kid Flash quickly shook his head no. “He might have an injury and if you jump out of here with him, it might make the injury worst.”

Superboy gave a small nod and stepped back.

“Hey, I could carry him and fly to where Miss M and Aqualad are staying?” Rocket asked.

Kid Flash hesitated but slowly gave the thirteen-year-old to Rocket. Rocket first adjusted Robin to a comfortable position and flew out but still keeping mind of the smoke that was going out through the warehouse. She saw Miss M and Aqualad thirty feet away from the warehouse and the not camouflaged Bio-ship besides them. Aqualad was looked like he just woke up and was sitting on the ground.

Rocket quickly flew over to them while still being careful with the boy in her arms. She laid him down on the ground and Miss Martian and Aqualad quickly went beside the fallen boy. Before they could ask any questions though, they heard a small explosion from the warehouse. The three conscious heroes quickly turned hoping the building hadn’t collapsed. They were relieved when they saw a whole on one of the sides of the building, but not too big of a hole for the whole warehouse to collapse. What relieved them most was the reason what caused the hole.

Superboy had punched a hole on one of the stable parts of the wall without making it collapse. Kid Flash quickly ran to them when he saw them by the hill. In less than ten seconds, Kid Flash was kneeling over the unconscious thirteen-year-old. The rest of the team soon ran out of the building and up the small hill.

“What happened?” Aqualad asked after he checked that everyone is there. Everyone seemed to be fine besides Robin and to say he was worried was an understatement.

“We can answer that question later, Robin needs medical attention, stat,” Artemis spoke up. She was crouching over the young boy again, checking his pulse noting that it was getting weaker.

Before they could even blink, Kid Flash picked up the Boy Wonder and ran into the Bio-ship. The rest of the team quickly followed without a second thought. Rocket had to help Aqualad since he was still weak from the heat but he seemed to be better.

“Megan, are you okay? How are you feeling?” Superboy asked Megan in their private mind-link. Megan gave him a small smile as she sat down on her seat and the seatbelts were quickly placed over the team. Robin was strapped to his seat which was now beside Kid Flash, who was holding on the boy’s hands.

“Yeah, I’m fine but we got more things to worry about right now.”

The Bio-ship quickly rose and flew to the direction of Mount Justice.

“ETA, twenty minutes. Black Canary prepared the medical ward and is now waiting for us,” Miss Martian informed the team and the ship was shrouded by silence. They were all worried for their youngest but unfortunately, the Bio-ship was already going on top speed.

Kid Flash was unnervingly quiet but none of them blamed him. The speedster was gripping the Boy Wonder’s hand like a lifeline. When the ginger spoke the team tensed and became nervous.

“Who’s going to contact Batman?”


	4. Chapter 4

Once the Bio-ship landed, Kid Flash came running down the ramp with Robin in his arms. He ran right pass Black Canary and straight to the Medical Bay, he barely registered running pass Red Tornado on his way, it was like he was in tunnel vision, which he probably was.

He quickly laid the thirteen-year-old on one of the beds where most of the machines were at. A minute later, Black Canary runs in but for Wally, it felt like an eternity when she entered.

"I need you to go out, Wally. You can't be in here," Black Canary said while rushing to one of the machines.

"W-what?! But I can't leave Di- Robin alone! We made a promise!" Wally yelled in protest, his grip on Robin's hand tightening. (Since when was he holding his hand?) Despite having it been five years since they made that promise, Wally wouldn't forget it and he doesn't plan on breaking it anytime soon.

" I know Wally, but I really need you to go out," Black Canary looked at him with sadness and guilt in her eyes, she knew better than to separate the two especially when it concerned with their promises especially if it’s a promise that they made when they first met but she really couldn't have Wally stay. She'd rather face a depressed or moody teen than an angry and protective Batdad.

Wally looked at her with pleading eyes. Black Canary bit her lips trying her best to resist.

"Wally, I promise you, he will be fine. I would never lie to you about this and you know that" Black Canary sighed and continued seeing Wally was still looking at her like a kicked puppy. "I'll tell you first before I tell the team and you'll be the second person I'll call, right before the League. That's as far as I'm going, Batman gets to know first and you can't do anything about it, now get out so I can start treating him."

Wally looked more relieved and zipped out of the room, pacing in front of the doors.

Black Canary sighed and let out a small smile. Those two, practically inseparable. She shook her head and looked at the thirteen-year-old laying on the bed and instantly went to work.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

After cleaning and changing to their casual clothes, the rest of the team went to the med-bay only to be greeted by Wally sitting on the chairs outside of the med-bay completely still. It unnerved the team, including Superboy not that he will admit it.

Aqualad walked forward and kneeled in front of the ginger who still hasn't acknowledged their presence. Aqualad then placed one hand on Wally's shoulder making Wally look at the leader.

"Robin will be fine, Wally. Have faith."

Wally opened his mouth to say something when the doors to the medical bay opened and Black Canary walking out, keeping her communicator in her pocket. Wally instantly sat up and ran in front of her, leaving Aqualad kneeling there in front of the now empty seat and his hands suspended in the air where Wally's shoulder was.

"Howishe?Ishealright?Whatifhesnotalrightohmygoshwhatifhesdead?!PleasedonttellmehesdeadIcantlosehim!" Wally was rambling and the team could barely understand him but they saw tears pool in his eyes and it set the team on edge.

Black Canary placed both her hands on the ginger's shoulder making him stop vibrating and breaking down. "Wally, listen to me. Robin's fine, he's stable and will be perfectly fine. I'm just running one last test on him to see if anything in his body is different but other than that, he's only suffering from oxygen deprivation."

Wally's eyes widened upon hearing the last statement. "But oxygen deprivation is still dangerous! It could affect his brain and body! Are you sure you scanned him for any other problems?!"

"Yes, Wally. I did all the scans that I can and he's perfectly fine, he just needs to wake up now," Black Canary answered calmly to the distressed speedster.

"Does that mean I can go in?!" Wally basically jumped and ran inside when Black Canary nodded. Black Canary couldn't help but sigh and smile at the fifteen-year old's antics. 

She looked at the team who still stood there gaping on what they just saw. Black Canary smiled at them. "Yes, you guys can also come in."

She didn't turn to look if the followed her and entered the med-bay and walked to one of the machines that were still on. She heard the footsteps of the team follow behind her into the med-bay.

"Batman will be here in 10 minutes, prepare for your mission report," Black Canary informed the team. She turned back to the machine when it made a few beeping noises saying that it was complete.

"W-what?"

The team looked at the female hero and saw her staring at the machine in shock.

All of the sudden the doors of the med-bay opened and Batman walked in despite Black Canary saying that he was going to arrive in 10 minutes not even a minute ago.

"What happened."

The team shrunk at the gruffness of his voice. It wasn't even a question, it was an order. An order that if they didn't comply in a minute, they will be skinned alive. Before Aqualad can answer though, Black Canary turned to look with him, anger and confusion burning in her eyes.

"Before that, can you explain to me why the readings are saying that Robin has superpowers?" Black Canary asked through gritted teeth.

To be continued…


	5. Chapter 5

"So? Are you going to answer my question or not?" Black Canary crossed her arms over her chest and stared at the Dark Knight. 

When Batman remained quiet, she continued to question him.

"I'm their counselor, Batman. When I said that I should know vital information about them, I'm pretty sure Robin having powers is vital.

"Wait-wait-wait-wait-wait, did I just hear her correctly or did I hit the ground too hard. Robin, my best friend, the kid I met since I was 11, has powers?!" Wally yelled in shock, his mouth falling open like he was smacked with a fish.  
Batman didn't say anything. "Is he stable."

It wasn't a question, it was a demand.

Black Canary just glared in response but answered nonetheless. "Yes, he's stable but you better answer my question. This is a big secret and can be vital information for the League!"

"Why bother asking?" Superboy scoffed. The team looked at him in shock. Nonetheless, he continued. "He's obviously just going to lie or ignore you. He doesn't obviously trust us!"

"Do you actually think that he would allow Robin to join the team if he doesn't trust us?" Wally spoke up. He was still clutching the unconscious thirteen-year old's hand in a death grip. His face was actually serious and gave Superboy an icy stare that actually unnerved the team.

The room was deadly silent. No one spoke as Wally and Superboy stared at each other in a heated glare, both heroes not backing down from one another.

After a few tense minutes, Superboy scoffed and turned away, folding his arms over his chest. When the tense atmosphere started disappearing, Batman suddenly turned and opened a holographic computer and pressed a few things and pictures of younger versions of Robin started appearing all around them.

Some of the pictures were a nine-year-old Robin. One of them stood out from the rest of the nine-year-old pictures of Robin. The Boy Wonder was smiling at the camera. It wasn't his usual smile though, it was a small smile and it didn’t look like he was completely happy.

The second group of pictures looked to be taken a year after the first picture. He looked happier in these pictures but his eyes were always trained on something that wasn't shown in the picture.

The third group also looked like it was taken a year after the last photo but this time, he wasn't smiling, he wasn't even looking at the camera. Majority of the pictures of Robin were him fast asleep but even in his sleep, he looked troubled.

The last group of photos looked like it was taken a year before the team was formed, so around when he was twelve years old. He was smiling cheerfully at the camera at this one, the closest to his smile right now compared to the rest of the photos.

"Why are you showing us this?" Black Canary asked, making the team take their eyes off the picture. Well, except Wally. His eyes were glued to the pictures of the younger days of the Boy Wonder.

"Those pictures are taken every year since he became Robin," Batman spoke. He walked over the thirteen-year-old who still laid still on the medical bed. "Ever since I took him in, things, once a year, would arise."

"His powers," Wally spoke, looking away from the pictures and looked at Batman, his face devoid from emotion. Batman didn't even look at Wally when he said that, he only started to thread his fingers through the thirteen-year old's hair.

The Team, including Black Canary, stared in shock at the actions. Batman, the Dark Knight, the Caped Crusader, the most feared person in all of Gotham was showing them weakness. Well, not really but for them considering he is the Batman, it was.

"I did it to protect him," Batman finally spoke.

"Protect him from what?" Black Canary questioned. "He has been surrounded by super-powered metas for nearly his whole life. He is part of a team that is mostly super-powered teens. What is there to protect him from?"

"This is not up for debate if Robin chooses to let you know, he will," Batman responded. He turned to leave the room but stopped when Wally spoke up.

"Wait... it's Robin who wants to keep it a secret?" the speedster asked, his voice soft and weak.

Batman just stared at the speedster and turned and left, leaving the question unanswered.

The room was shrouded in silence, no one knowing what to say nor what to do. It was instantly broken when Superboy stomped out of the medical bay, going to the direction of the lounge.

Black Canary sighed at this.

"Go and rest, you can visit him in the morning," Black Canary spoke up and turned to follow where Batman went.

"But how about Robin, we can't just leave him here alone," Raquel said, her arms folded over her chest.

Zatanna was about to step up and say that she’ll stay to watch over him tonight but she was beaten to it by Wally.

“I’ll look after him tonight,” Wally said, his hands still clutching the thirteen-year old’s hand.

Aqualad was about to say that they should take shifts but stopped himself when he saw how Wally stared at the unconscious Boy Wonder. In the end, he just nodded and motioned the others to leave the medical bay.

Artemis was the last one to leave, she stared at the redhead but his eyes were only on the ebony haired boy. With one last look over her shoulder, she turned and left, closing the door behind her.


	6. Chapter 6

It had been a week since the failed mission. Batman came in the next day and brought Robin back to home. No one, not even Wally, has heard from them since.

The team was lounging around Superboy was switching through channels.

"Hey Wally, are you sure you've heard nothing from Batman nor Robin?" Zatanna asked.

Said speedster groaned in annoyance. The team has been asking this almost every three hours.

"I don't know, why do you think I'm here if I can just go and visit him right now?" Wally asked in exasperation. Why do they think that he would know? He was just as restless to hear from the Dark Knight and Boy Wonder as well.

"Well, seeing that you were so protective of him and as well as the fact that the two of you are best friends and have known each other the longest, we thought you would know before any of us," Artemis said, rolling her eyes at the speedster.

Said speedster opened his mouth to rebuke, which would most probably lead to another argument. However, before he could even utter a word, his attention was suddenly on the television that Superboy kept switching.

"Dick Grayson was shot earlier today at the Wayne Enterprises Press Conference this morning. No official statement has been released about his condition but medical officers have stated that he is undergoing an operation right this instance-"

"International K-Pop sensation sells out Wembley Stadium is less than two hours-"

"Wait! Wait!" Wally yelled, standing up to his feet. In a blink of an eye, he snatched the remote from Superboy who continued to switch through channels. He switched the channel back to the news channel. He was literally vibrating on his feet but no one pointed it out, too bothered and confused to the fact why he did that.

He finally stopped changing the channels until it was back to the news channel.

"- is currently receiving medical treatment after undergoing a successful operation. It is said that he will be released from the hospital later afternoon and continue with his medical treatments at Wayne Manor because of safety reasons."

"Wally," M'gann spoke up, her face confused yet concerned for her friend. "Are you okay? You look pale."

"Yeah, dude. You look like you're about to collapse," Raquel commented.

However, all of this went to deaf ears. The redhead not even looked like he heard any of them.

"Meanwhile, Bruce Wayne has yet to make an appearance or release any statement to what happened to his ward. "

"Hey, Baywatch! We're talking to you here!" Artemis snapped.

[RECOGNIZED: SUPERMAN 01]

"Team, report to the mission room," Superman's voice echoed through the hallways.

Wally didn't wait for the superhero to finish. He was already out of the room before anyone can stop him, throwing the remote to the couch, not even caring if it broke or not.

The team only looked at each other and started making their way to the mission room.

When they arrived, they were greeted by the sight of a fuming speedster glaring at an impassive Kryptonian.

Superman broke eye contact with the redhead, turning to face the rest of the team. He brought up a holographic computer, showing a bunch of photos of the ebony blue-eyed boy from the news earlier.

"I have a mission for you," Superman started. "I'm not sure if all of you have heard but Dick Grayson, ward of Bruce Wayne, was shot earlier in a press conference at Wayne Enterprises. The team is to watch over him until the League finds the assassin. Any questions?"

"Several questions actually," Artemis spoke up, her voice angry. "First, why are you giving the mission, last time I checked, it was supposed to be Batman who gives missions. Second, what makes you think that we'll watch over some snobby rich kid?"

Superman's eyes seemed to harden at her questions but luckily Aqualad stepped up before anything could happen.

"With all due respect, Superman," Aqualad stepped up, turning to give a warning glare at the archer. "We are just curious as to why the League is helping out in this assassination attempt and why we need to watch over him."

“Well, seeing that Bruce Wayne is one of the secret investors of the Justice League and helps with the technology around here, the Justice League figured that the least we can do is to send a group to watch over his ward until the Justice League finds the assassin,” Superman answered.

“How about Robin? And where’s Batman?” M’gann asked.

“And that’s the other problem,” Superman sighed. “Ever since the failed mission last week, both Batman and Robin remained unresponsive. Have any of you heard from them?”

The team instantly turned to look at the redhead speedster, including Superman. Wally groaned and raised his hands in exasperation.

“NO! How many times have I said that no, Rob nor even the Batman messaged me,” he groaned.  
Superman just sighed once more, most probably expecting that answer. “Well, hopefully with what is happening right now with Bruce Wayne and his ward, we’ll hear from them soon. Okay, team, pack clothes for at least a week, we don’t know how long we’re going to take, you will depart in two hours.”

He was about to turn and leave when Wally spoke up for the second time since the debriefing. “What of the no supers in Gotham?”

Superman turned to look at the speedster. “That’s the only thing we’ve heard from Batman, he said he’ll let it pass.”

With that Superman left and the team stood there in shock. Batman was actually allowing them, supers, into Gotham? This must have been bigger than they taught.

Aqualad seemed to be the first one who snapped out of his shock. “Okay, team, you heard what he said. Pack up for at least a week, we’ll leave in two hours.”

“Uh,” Zatanna squeaked before the team could disperse to start packing for their mission. “Sorry but I can’t come, I have a quiz tomorrow so my dad expects me to be home later.”

“Yeah but I’m out too,” Raquel spoke up. “I have a science competition this week”

“It is okay my friends,” Aqualad said before Artemis could complain about why they get to ditch the mission. “We will just contact you if we need any help. Good luck with those things you need to do.”

Zatanna smiled apologetically and left with Raquel following her. The rest of the team went to their rooms to start packing for the mission and Wally and Artemis calling their parents to tell them they won’t be home for a while and Conner and M’gann messaging their friends that they will be absent for a while due to family problems.


	7. Chapter 7

The team sat in the Bio-ship, flying to Gotham City dressed in their casual wear. Artemis was glaring daggers at the speedster who was just glaring at her back. M’gann looked between the two of them with concern while Superboy just ignored all of them, preferring to look outside instead.

Aqualad sighed in his seat. They just left Mount Justice five minutes ago and the two already managed to cause an argument. Artemis was complaining about how they were just wasting their time and why should they even watch over a boy that can ask for literally a God to watch over him. However, Wally didn’t agree with her and started saying that she was just lazy and can’t watch over a kid.

“Can you to just shut up,” Superboy murmured. “We’re given a mission and once we get it over with, we get to go home. Done.”

Artemis glared at him for a while and groaned, folding her arms over her chest and just turned to glare outside.

The speedster was still frowning at the female green archer but turned to look at the floor instead. And the flight continued to remain that way until they got to their destination.  
“Uh,” Megan said, breaking the awkward silence. “Just how are we going to Wayne Manor exactly? Cause Superman didn’t really tell us how we’ll go there. We can’t just land in front, what if people see us?”

“We go somewhere that no one can stumble across the Bio-ship and continue to walk on foot,” Aqualad answered.

“This better be worth it,” Artemis mumbled

***

Superboy threw the last few branches around the Bio-ship, completely hiding it from plain sight.  
“Okay, so, does anyone of us know how to get to Wayne Manor?” Artemis asked.  
The team remained silent until Wally sighed. “I know.”  
The team stared at him like he grew another head.

“What?” he asked, feeling weird for being stared at for this long.

“Nothing!” M’gann replied. “It’s just that I don’t think any of us has been to Gotham especially with the no supers rule much less know where Wayne Manor is.”

Wally just rolled his eyes and started walking to the crowded roads of Gotham with the team following him. “I’ve been here countless times to visit someone who’s close to me so I know some places in this city.”

The rest of the walk was peaceful and quiet with the occasional chatter of Megan and Artemis.  
“How much farther?” Artemis complained for the tenth time.

“Just up this small hill,” Wally answered.

Connor, having been silent for the majority of the time, spoke up. “Remind me again why we’re doing this?”

Wally turned to glare at him, ready to snap for having to hear the same question since their departure from Mount Justice.

“Because,” Aqualad replied before Wally can start a fight. “This is a mission that serves as something vital for the League.”

Superboy grunted in response but the others just ignored it.

Once they reached the top of the small hill, they saw a big gray mansion with a big gold gate with a W insignia on the top of the gate. The team stared in awe at the enormous house but Wally just walked forward and pressed the intercom beside the gate.  
Artemis stared at him but kept quiet.

“Good afternoon, Wayne Manor. How may I help you?” A voice from the intercom spoke. The voice was clear and had a British accent that had an air of formality around it.

Aqualad stepped forward and spoke with the man through the intercom.

“Good afternoon, sir,” the Atlantian replied with the same amount of formality. Artemis turned to Megan and mocked Kaldur by acting all formal and pretending to have a necktie and a cup of tea. They both let out a small giggle but their leader just ignored them. “We are the team that was sent by the Justice League to watch over Richard Grayson.”

“Ah, yes. The team that Master Bruce said to watch over Master Richard. Please do enter.”

That intercom buzzed off and then the gate started opening by itself. A driveway that split into two, one that led up to what seemed like a garage and the other leading up to the front door of the gigantic house and made a small u-turn around a fountain. A big spacious garden filled with flowers surrounded the house. Though the manor was an old gray color that had a few cracks and had vines climbing on the house walls, the whole place has a prestigious air to it making the place seem more prosperous.

Artemis and Megan gawked at the sight of where they were going to stay for a while, while the boys just started walking to the front door.

“Damn, we should do this more often,” Artemis whispered under her breath and started walking as well with Megan following after her.

Just as Aqualad was about to knock the door, a butler with gray hair and a mustache opened the door.

“Welcome to Wayne Manor, please come in,” the butler spoke. It was the same person as the one who answered the intercom.

The team looked at each other and walked into the mansion. The living room was grand with a fireplace with a large smart television on the mantle and comfy couches and carpet. They stopped as Alfred turned to look at his guests properly.

“Sorry for the late introduction but you may address me as Alfred,” the butler– now introduced as Alfred, said. “I am the head butler of this household so if you wish to know anything or address a problem, you may approach me. I hope you find everything you need in your rooms and do your jobs properly.”

It was quite obvious that he was fond of the thirteen-year-old boy they were hired to protect. The underlying threat didn’t need to be spoken even in the mind link– mess up and they will most likely disappear overnight.

“We assure you, sir. We will do our best to protect him and we will not put our guard down until the Justice League catches this threat,” Aqualad promised. “I am Aqualad, leader of the team. This is Miss Martian–”

M’gann gave a small wave, a smile on her face.

“Artemis–”

Said archer crossed her arms over her chest but nodded in acknowledgment.

“Superboy-”

Conner just let out a grunt and looked elsewhere.  
“And finally, Kid Flash–”

Wally didn’t even look like he was paying attention to their leader, his eyes constantly looking towards the grand staircase leading to the second floor.

“Unfortunately, our other members couldn’t make it but I assure you that we will keep Richard safe,” Aqualad finished.

Alfred just nodded, a blank unreadable expression on his face. “I thank you for doing this, I will now lead you to the young master’s room while giving the house rules that even the Master listens to. The first rule, no one enters the kitchen without my permission.”

They started following the butler to the staircase but Wally looked like it was taking his all not to zip up to the second floor. Megan, who was walking beside the redhead noticed and was about to ask if anything was wrong but was cut off by Alfred.

“If you wish, you can go ahead, Master Wallace, but as long as you don’t break anything valuable like last time.”

The rest of the team stopped dead in their tracks even before Alfred finished his sentence but before they can ask how the British butler knew of Wally’s civilian identity, said speedster was already running to the second floor with his superspeed.

Artemis’ hand reached to her back pocket where her swiss army knife that she kept was. M’gann was preparing to levitate Alfred into the air in means to apprehend him. Superboy was stiff but didn’t look like he was going to attack. Even Aqualad, whose hands were itching to bring out his bearers, was thinking of possible outcomes and scenarios in his head.

Instead of being on edge with the alarmed team, Alfred just continued to walk forward, his eyes still looking ahead, continuing to give the house rules.

“Any questions will be addressed after I explain the most important house rules. The second rule, do not touch anything of value, the majority if not all the artifacts in this household have been passed down for hundreds of years.”

Thrown off by the calmness of the butler, the team let their guard down for a bit and continued to follow him, though they were still cautious and prepared to attack if necessary.

“Rule number three, boys are not permitted to be alone with any of the girls. Rule number four, you must be in your room by 10 pm, only those permitted can be out past that time. Rule number five, if there is any issue concerning the house or the well-being of the master, approach me. That is all the important rules, if there are any concerns or questions, now will be the time to ask since I have business to attend to,” Alfred concluded, stopping right in front of a door in the seemingly endless hallway. He didn’t even wait for their reply and knocked on the wooden door.

The team heard a voice from the other side to come in and without hesitation, Alfred opened the door and walked in.

Sitting on the bed with a book opened on his lap, was a boy with ebony black hair and blue mesmerizing eyes. To the left of the boy was an IV stand with blood and medicine connected to his left hand. What shocked the team the most though was that Wally, who ran off earlier and still hadn’t explained to them why Alfred knew his name, was sitting on a chair to the right of the thirteen-year-old, his hand clasped tightly to the right hand of the boy. He didn’t even look like he was noticed that they entered!

It looked like they were both having a serious conversation before the team entered, the redhead seemingly bothered by something the thirteen-year-old said but instead of continuing where they left off, the boy looked at the newly arrived team and butler.

“Hi!,” the boy– most probably Richard, greeted them with a large smile etched on his face. “I’m Richard but you can call me Dick for short. It’s a pleasure to meet the people who're going to protect me until this whole fiasco is over.”

“For someone who just got shot, he has a lot of energy,” Superboy commented in the mind link.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you as well, Dick!” M’gann said, equally cheerful.

“Uh, not to pry or anything,” Artemis spoke up. “But how does your butler know Kid Flash’s secret identity and why do you two seem so close?”

“Artemis,” Aqualad warned in the mind link, his voice strained.

Instead of looking offended by the tone the archer used, Dick just looked confused by what she said and turned to look at Wally with a confused expression.

“You didn’t tell them?” He asked Wally. The boy gave a small laugh at the pout the redhead gave him. “Fine, I’ll tell them.”

He turned to look at the team, who still stood confused at the scene before them. “Well since Wally didn’t tell you, I’m his boyfriend.”


	8. Chapter 8

The team felt like they were just going down a rabbit hole right now. Ever since their first mission in Gotham, it was like a whole new world was being revealed to them. 

“What?” Artemis asked. Her hands fisted tightly by her hands, visibly shaking with suppressed anger. “What of Robin? You didn’t leave his side once when he was injured in that mission a week ago! Don’t you dare lie! I see the way you stare at him with love in your eyes!” 

Artemis was furious. It was no secret that she had feelings for the redhead but knew that she stood no chance when Wally was practically a love stuck fool around the Boy Wonder despite him flirting with every girl he meets. She understood that Wally would never choose her when he could have the protege of Batman but to find out that he was already dating someone behind everyone’s back?!

The team failed to see that Wally’s ears turned red when she mentioned the way he stared at Robin. Dick smiled upon hearing this and looked like he wanted to laugh while Alfred stood behind the team, an amused look on his face. 

“U-uh, Dick and I have been dating for almost ten month now. We met while I was in civilian form while he was visiting Central Park with his father for a press conference in Star City. He found out my hero identity after a slip of mine,” Wally explained. He looked at her with cautious eyes. “We’ve known for each other for four years now.”

“And what Robin, huh?” the archer snapped back. 

Wally seemed very cautious and uncomfortable with this if his hands weren’t clasped in the thirteen-year old’s hands, he would’ve been vibrating on the spot right now. Dick was looking at him with amusement in his eyes, the troll was most probably enjoying seeing him like a cornered animal that was about to be snacked on. 

“Rob… I had a thing for Rob and I had a thing before but we never truly talked about it, we just kinda danced around it,” the speedster confessed. “Uh, he knows that I’m in a relationship Dick but he didn’t really wanna talk about it so we just acted like we normally do with each other.”

Wally shifted in his seat uncomfortably while the team tried to process what he just revealed to them. They were shocked yet happy for their friend and teammate. 

“Wait wait wait, you’re telling me that you’ve been dating him for almost a year?” Artemis clarified. “But you’ve been flirting every girl you’ve seen since… ever!” 

All of a sudden Dick started to cough which worried the team greatly but in reality, he was just trying to cover up his laughter. 

“Don’t worry about him flirting with others, I’m used to him doing that and I’m pretty sure he only flirts with them ‘cause he feels awkward around them,” the thirteen-year-old answered for his boyfriend. 

“But enough about our relationship, you guys haven’t introduced yourselves,” the ebony teenager reminded them. 

“Ah yes,” Aqualad stepped up. “We are the co-op team that was sent by the Justice League to watch over you while they find the people who attacked you this morning. I am Aqualad, leader of the team, but you may refer to me as Kaldur.”

“Nice to meet you! I’m Miss Martian but you can call me Miss M for short,” Miss Martian greeted with a little jump and a big smile on her face. 

“Superboy, no nicknames,” Superboy said, folding his arms with over his chest. The team just sweatdropped at him but let him pass since he was always like this. 

Artemis was about to speak up and introduce herself but Dick beat her to it. 

“Artemis right?” the boy asked, his voice unsure but his facial expression said otherwise. 

“H-How did you know?” said archer stuttered. She was definitely sure that she never saw the boy on the street and if they did, he wouldn’t have noticed someone like her. 

“Well I try to make it my job to know those who were chosen as candidates for my father’s scholarship,” he confessed. 

“Scholarship? You didn’t say that you got into a scholarship especially not here in Gotham,” Miss Martian questioned. Artemis just looked confused, she never signed up for any scholarship.

“‘Cause,” the ebony answered for the blond. “She doesn’t even know that she’s part of the program since there will only one person who will be chosen.”

Artemis just stared at him in shock. How did Bruce Wayne even know about her? She wasn’t even part of any competitions or projects that were well known and didn’t even attend any extra-curricular activities in her current school. 

Before she can ask for more information on her could-be-scholarship, there was knocking on the door before it opened and a tall Caucasian man with an air of authority and power stepped into the room. The team only noticing now that Alfred had left them and Dick alone in the bedroom. The man’s black hair was gelled back so that it didn’t cover his face, his eyes were a dark shade of blue that made him look like a cold yet warm person. It was without a doubt the billionaire and richest man in Gotham and the father of the boy they were here to protect, Bruce Wayne. 

“Mister Wayne, it is good to officially meet you,” Kaldur said, tilting his head a bit downward in respect. 

“It gives me comfort to know that there will be a group of heroes that will be here to protect my son while I am away,” the billionaire greeted.

“If only I wasn’t needed in STAR Labs I would stay here and help but unfortunately the Board of Directors deems it as an urgent matter, what’s wrong? I have no clue,” Bruce joked as he went around Dick’s bed and sitting down on beside his foster son. 

Dick laughed at this. “Yeah right. I’m pretty sure they just want you to not to bother since you will obviously be thinking of something else,” he said sarcastically and knowing that Bruce was using that as a cover-up. His adoptive father would also most probably be setting up secret cameras around his room again while he was out looking for his attackers. 

Bruce nodded with a small smile on his face, leave it to his ward to get shot but still be laughing and cracking jokes. The billionaire then turned to look at the redhead beside the thirteen-year-old.

Said redhead gulped at the intense glare that his boyfriend's father sent him. “Haha,” he laughed nervously. “It’s great to meet you again- not considering the circumstances of course! I’ll protect him with my life!”

Wally looked like he was about to tear apart by a monster but looking at his expression, it looked like he would rather have willingly gone to the monster than be in the position he was in right now. 

“I’m counting on that, Wallace,” Bruce said, smiling. Though it was obvious that there was an underlying threat to their lives if something goes wrong, just like what Alfred did earlier. “Well, I’ll be going now, I have to leave in ten minutes,” he excused himself, standing up and walking towards the door. “I’ll fetch Alfred to lead you to your designated rooms and I’m counting in all of you to keep my ward safe.”

And with that, the billionaire left the room and the team waited awkwardly for the butler to arrive.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the next chapter would be out sometime next month since I'm starting to stockpile the future chapters and so far I have been planning to post once a month since but I'm not sure if it would be consistent since I just started my last year in Senior High School ;-;


	9. Chapter 9

While the rest of the team were making rounds around the mansion. Aqualad was on guard duty right now. He stood against the locked balcony in Dick’s room while said boy was reading a book. They were in that position ever since Kaldur started his shift half an hour ago.

The team decided that each one of them will take shifts and stay with Dick for at least an hour before switching with someone else. The others would either make rounds or sleep if it was night or if they were on night duty. They managed to convince Alfred to lift the third rule but only for guard shifts. Aqualad was on shift right now since he didn’t decide to go around his room and unwind being the type of person who took his missions seriously.

Dick sneaked a glance away from his book and saw that the leader was just staring out the glass door. Though it was locked and bulletproof, the Atlantean has been standing there the whole time, refusing to even acknowledge the red velvet sofa beside him. The thirteen-year-old understood that the super was just being cautious but after glancing and seeing the position they were in, decided that the super was taking his job a bit too seriously.

The younger’s sigh caught the attention of the Atlantean and said hero turned to glance what was wrong. Dick temporarily closed his book, remembering what page he was in.

“You know you can sit down and watch some television right?” the thirteen-year-old said.  
“It is my job to watch over you until the League finds the culprit who tried to take your life,” the leader said formally.

Dick just chuckled, unaffected by the words of the other. “Well seeing that all the windows of this place are bulletproof and that there are also guards roaming around this place and CCTV cameras watching twenty-four-seven. You guys were just sent here for safety measures since no one knows who my assailant was, for all we know is that they could be a person who could shapeshift through walls.”

“And that is why we cannot put our guard down,” Kaldur said, using the sayings of the boy to give a reason for his actions of being too on edge. “We are not sure what we are up against and for the safety of you and the other occupants of this building, it is our job to take our mission seriously especially since lives are at stake.”

Dick nodded, understanding the reason on the rigidness of the team leader but he still refused to back down. “I understand your reasoning but isn’t it wise to also be grounded and level headed? You don’t have to stand there all rigid and serious, it’s okay to joke around sometimes.”

If Wally were here, the redhead would be saying that he would be such a hypocrite at times.

The Atlantean took into consideration what Dick just said and moved from his place by the balcony to sit on the black couch beside the bookshelf. Although some books caught his eye, he just sat down, still cautious but not as stiff as earlier.

Dick chuckled at this and since he wanted Aqualad to not be on edge, he decided to pause his reading and quickly ripped out a piece of paper from his notepad on his nightstand and place it in the page he was at. He settled with having a conversation with his leader will fix the tense atmosphere.

“So,” he began. “What’s it like to be part of a team of superheroes?”

He wanted to cringe at that, among all the question he could think of why that? It makes him sound like a nosy spoiled brat. Oh well, act the part he was assigned to– the thirteen-year-old ward of a billionaire who is helpless and defenseless and needs protecting. He has to play this role from start to end. 

“Well, as a team leader, it could be stressful for a handful of times so it is even more stressful for me since the lives of not only my team but also the lives of innocent citizens are in danger,” Aqualad confessed. Although he wasn’t team leader, Dick understood what Aqualad was saying. The constant dependency of having a plan and to make the right choices was a heavy burden especially for someone their age. “Though it may be rough, I serve my King until my last breath and fight until the end with my teammates.”

Dick wanted to say that he felt the same but he couldn’t risk outing his identity like that so instead, he just nodded like he understood everything but only to a certain level. Just because he wasn’t Robin right now, Dick Grayson also felt a similar weight on his shoulders.

“I somehow understand you,” he admitted. “The constant eyes that watch and follow you despite not knowing everything. The need to act as if nothing was wrong and everything was grand and dandy when its the complete opposite. I understand to some extent.”

Aqualad nodded, he couldn’t imagine always being the center of attention by just being connected to someone rich and powerful.

After that, the two of them just started to talk with one another until it a knock from the door made them pause in their conversation.

“Come in,” Dick said aloud.

Without wasting another second, Wally came in holding a tray of food.

“Hey, babe,” the redhead said with a smile on his face. “I brought you dinner, I somehow managed to convince Alfred to let me bring up your food.”

“Let me guess, you used the “my boyfriend is sick, please let me take care of him”?” Dick asked with a smug smile on his face. He knew the answer when Wally blushed a dark shade of red.

Aqualad, who was still on the couch, watched the whole thing, a bit amused at how his teammate was acting despite him flirting with girls all the time. Finally realizing what position he was in, he let out a cough to remind the two that he was still here.

Wally turned to face him and blushed even harder when he realized that not only his teammate but his leader was there and just saw the whole thing.

“A-Aqualad!” the speedster yelped. “I- uh… Alfred said dinner will be ready in five minutes! Yeah! He told me to call everyone down, I already ate early and will be taking guard duty right now! Yeah! That’s it!”

Aqualad smiled a bit at the redhead but Dick just outright laughed. Shacking his head in amusement, the Atlantean stood up and left the room. When the door promptly shut closed, Wally quickly placed the tray of food on the nightstand and threw himself on the side of the bed, covering his face completely while his boyfriend was laughing his head off, finding his embarrassment highly amusing.

“You do know that you should have expected someone from the team to be here right? You guys did decide to do shifts,” Dick snickered. Oh, how whipped he was for this boy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I just want to clarify that I will be updating this book and all my others at least every month. No promises on updating more than once a month but if there will be... surprise? or that could also mean I finished writing the book and decided to update it more or maybe cause I already wrote too much and want to update more often but if that were to happen, I'll definitely say! 'Til next time!


	10. Chapter 10

The mission was more interesting than she thought. While Wally stayed with Dick until midnight, both just watching some television and playing some games, Artemis came to dismiss Wally from his shift only to see Dick sleeping against the redhead while said redhead was using his phone, his face content with everything. 

She had the midnight to 4 AM shift but seeing Wally not even complaining about being up late made her guilty for relieving him off duty. The speedster probably didn’t see his boyfriend as often as he would like since living the life as both hero and civilian can be quite tough. Though she was still angry that the speedster was dating someone despite all his flirtatious moves against girls and what seemed to be a secret crush on the Boy Wonder, she knocked on the door softly to get the redhead’s attention without waking the sleeping boy. 

Wally seemed to deflate a bit after seeing her there, only remembering now why he was there and what the risks of the mission if they were to fail. 

“Is it okay if we switch shifts?” she remembered him asking her, his voice soft. “My shift later is the three to seven pm shift.”

She didn’t know why she said yes but she did so she found herself shuffling back to her room, questioning everything she knew about the speedster. 

It was now time for breakfast with Superboy on shift at the moment, the archer found herself eating some toast and egg with the rest of her team save Superboy and Kid Flash. The speedster ate his breakfast earlier than the rest of them and went to sleep telling them to wake him up by lunch. 

“So, we’re only going to make rounds for the rest of the day unless it’s our shift right?” Megan asked over breakfast.

Their leader nodded as he finished his breakfast, placing his used utensils and plate by the counter. “Yes, if any is to occur, contact us via comms or mind-link.”

The two girls nodded and quickly finished their breakfast as well, and placing their plates by the counter as well. The three of them deciding what parts of the house they were going to cover with Artemis taking the west wing, where Dick’s room was located, Megan taking the east wing, where their rooms were, and Kaldur taking the entrance and outside lawn. 

It was an hour after Superboy’s shift, with Miss Martian replacing him and telling him to make his rounds in the east wing when something outside the window caught Artemis’ attention. She quickly grabbed her bow and readied an arrow but the motion was gone which threw her off. She was sure she saw something move past the window but that was impossible, she was on the third floor.

 _“I saw something move from the outside! Third floor, west wing!”_ she yelled in the mind-link. She quickly ran to where the direction the motion was going to only to realize it was headed for Dick’s room. _“It’s heading to Dick’s room, Megan!”_

She ran faster and kicked the door open only to see a redhead girl in the room, the balcony doors open. Miss Martian stood in the room, confused while Dick just sat calmly on his bed, smiling at the unknown girl.

“Who are you?” Artemis growled, taking aim at the girl.

The redhead seemed to look like the same age as Dick and didn’t seem dangerous but that didn’t mean that she wasn’t, her years in Gotham taught her that much.

For someone who had an arrow aimed at her, the unknown girl seemed unbothered and just stared at Dick. 

“These are the people tasked to protect you?” the girl asked, looking at the archer and martian skeptically, completely ignoring Artemis.

“Hey! They’re doing their job! Besides if I didn’t let you in, pretty sure Miss Martian would have knocked you down by now,” Dick said in an accusing tone but it was obvious he was enjoying what was happening. 

Kid Flash suddenly zoomed in, still in his pajamas but calmed down when he saw the unknown girl. He suddenly smiled and gave her a high five. 

“Barbara! It’s nice to see you again!” the speedster greeted. 

Artemis, who was still confused at was going down, slowly let her bow down slightly calmed down that Dick and Wally knew the girl though it was suddenly replaced by anger. 

“Excuse me,” she growled. “We still don’t know who you are and how you got pass not only the guards but us as well.”

It was at that moment both Aqualad and Superboy came into the room, ready to attack but was excusably shocked that everything seemed to be okay. 

No one spoke as Aqualad surveyed the room, his eyes scanning everything to make sure he got every single detail. 

He then turned to Miss Martian and Artemis, his face calm yet stern. 

“U-uh, I was just talking with Dick when Artemis said that she saw someone from outside,” Miss Martian explained. “I was about to check what she was talking about when there was loud knocking from the balcony. I was about to knock them out with my telekinesis when Dick said that everything was fine and to open the doors. That was when Artemis came into the room.”

“You know you can just ask who I am, right? I’m literally right here,” the girl, who Wally called Barbara, said in exasperation. 

“I did but you never answered so I’ll ask again, who are you?” Artemis said with a slight growl in her voice. 

Barbara seemed to ignore the snark and answered while walking to sit beside Dick, who seemed pleased with her presence. “I’m Barbara Gordon, daughter of the Commissioner here in Gotham. I attend Gotham High with Dick, been friends since we were nine. Met Wally when he and Dick were still best friends. I came here to visit him after hearing that he was shot yesterday.”

“So you decided to sneak into the Manor and climb up to the third floor? Why not call?” Wally asked, laughing at how she said she just had a walk in the park and not break in. 

“Duh,” Barbara answered like it was the most obvious thing in the world. “Knowing Bruce, he would have most probably set this whole place in lockdown, no one goes in and no one goes out. My dad also told me to stay put since they might target me for being friends with Dick so I snuck out and came here.”

“This place is in lockdown?” Superboy asked. 

“Well not really but I just wanted to visit my friend,” Barbara said cheerfully. 

The team, besides the speedster, was shocked by how natural she was acting as she did it all the time. 

“Seeing that you scared the crap out of them, I think it would be better if you just stayed over or at least call before you come,” Dick snickered. 

This mission was definitely more interesting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow! It's already another time to update! Pretty sure I won't update this month since I'm busy with college applications and grade 12 ;-;


	11. Chapter 11

Almost a week has passed since the arrival of the team at Wayne Manor. Besides the incident when Barbara snuck into the manor, there were no problems so far. 

Dick was watching some television with Wally, both of them wrapped in blankets. The ebony scratched his arm where the IV was located. The redhead slapped his hand without question.

“Stop messing with your IV,” the redhead reprimanded.

“Please?” the thirteen-year-old practically begged. “It’s been at least five days since I was shot, pretty sure I could last without it already.”

Wally side glanced at the younger but quickly averted his eyes when he saw the huge pout on Dick’s face. 

“We already talked about this,” Wally sighed. “You were just shot not too long ago, I’m pretty sure you still need that.”

“This IV itches,” the younger complained. “And the medicine makes me feel so out of it. Besides, I’m fine!” 

“You’re not fine, you need rest,” Wally murmured. He turned to his boyfriend and wrapped his arm around Dick and started to gently comb his hand through the ebony locks. “Look at the bright side, we can just stay here like this until the Justice League finds the shooter.”

“True,” Dick relented, enjoying the company of the redhead. The thirteen-year-old leaned into the redhead’s embrace, closing his eyes shut. They sat like that for a few minutes as the television blared in the background.

After Barbara snuck past the team and broke into the manor, Wally has been on edge and spending all his time with Dick, almost never leaving the younger alone. It was a shock at first when a floor bed was suddenly placed in the thirteen-year old’s room with pillows and blankets. Wally quickly realized that Alfred placed it there and he silently thanked the butler. After that, the team had to change tactics. Wally now stayed with his boyfriend 24/7, even getting his food served up and if ever he wanted more, he would zip down as fast as he can to grab more food. The rest of the team would continue to make rounds and even started to make their own observations and research on who the shooter was.

“Do you think Bruce is okay?” Dick suddenly asked out of the blue. “He hasn’t contacted me since he left.”

Wally looked down at his boyfriend and tightened his grip on the boy’s shoulder. “Of course, he’s your dad, no one can harm him.”

“I know that he’s capable of taking care of himself, I just can’t help but worry,” Dick confessed.

“I know what you mean but you need to trust in him that he’ll be alright,” the redhead comforted. “I’m pretty sure he’s just busy and will call you at once he has some free time.”

“Yeah, I guess I was just overreacting,” Dick agreed with his boyfriend. 

There was suddenly knocking on his door and Artemis entered the room, panting as if she ran her way to here. 

“Go to the news channel,” the archer panted.

Without wasting another beat, the redhead took the remote and started to switch through the channels, finding the news channel. 

“I’m Vicky Vale, reporting to you live,” the news reporter said as she stood in front of Arkham Asylum. “Another murder occurred last night. The body was found at Gotham Park. And just like the other recent murders, the victim was stabbed to death and a gaping hole where his heart was; the heart has yet to be found. This has been the thirteenth victim of the week and the Dynamic Duo has yet to be seen around Gotham. Crime rates increasing night after night. Could this have any relation to the crime-fighting duo not being seen? Where are they right now? Once again, I’m Vicky Vale. Stay safe, Gotham.” 

The three of them kept quiet after the while even as the television started to play some music. 

“Uh, not to be mean or anything, Arty,” Wally said, breaking the silence. “But why did we need to watch that?”

Artemis looked thrown back at his question before she became angry at the redhead. “You stupid idiot! Both Batman and Robin haven’t been seen in Gotham for a week! That means that Boy Wonder has been out after the mission!”

“You’re right,” Wally said in realization before turning to his boyfriend who still hasn’t said a word. “Do you know anything about this?”

“Uh, not really, I was just stuck here and at school,” Dick answered but it was an obvious lie to the redhead. “Why would I know when Batman and Robin go out? And what mission? Did something happen?”

Wally stared at the ebony for a while, his face void from any emotion but it was fine the next. He turned to the blonde. “Well, I haven’t heard from Robin yet. How about from Batman? Did he contact the League?”

Artemis shook her head no, a sigh escaping her lips. “Well, if you heard anything from Boy Wonder, let us know.”

“Yeah, will do,” Wally agreed. Artemis turned and left the room. After waiting for a good solid ten minutes, Wally turned to face Dick, his face serious. 

“What happened after the mission?” Wally asked his boyfriend. “And tell me the truth this time, no more lies.”

Dick sighed, looking at his lap. “I was on a mission with Bats. There has been a mass murderer on the loose and we can’t seem to connect any of his victims, we can’t find any connections between them. Just random people at the wrong place and at the wrong time.”

Despite feeling a bit horrified at the news, Wally nodded understanding why the thirteen-year-old was out as Robin. “But you still didn’t explain what happened in the mission. Why didn’t you tell me that you have powers?”

Wally got both of his boyfriend’s hand into his own, forcing the younger to look at him in the eyes. “I know that it’s okay for you to keep secrets, Dick. But I almost lost you, I don’t want that to happen ever again. Please, just explain, even just the tiniest and vaguest answers are okay, I just want to know why you didn’t tell me.”

Dick kept quiet, thinking to himself. “I never wanted this, I never wanted to have powers. I never wanted to make you angry–”

Wally cut off Dick, seeing the tears pooling in the younger’s eyes. “Shh, I’m not mad at you, Dick. Just hurt that you didn’t tell me. I just need an explanation on why.”

The thirteen-year-old nodded. “I don’t know why or how– I just always had it.”


	12. Chapter 12

“What on earth are you doing?” Wally asked as he exited the bathroom. Leave a bedridden thirteen-year-old for five minutes and you come back to this. 

“Nothing... just hanging around,” Dick answered, staring at his redhead boyfriend upside down. 

Wally sighed while Dick continued to lay on his bed, his head dangling off the side. 

“You know I never noticed that there were engravings on the side of the door.”

“You that bored?” Wally asked, closing the bathroom door behind him. He was promptly answered by a blank stare from the younger. 

“You know what? Why not binge-watch a long series or movie?” Wally said, grabbing the remote to the television. 

~

They were halfway through The Two Towers, the second movie of Lord of The Rings when Dick spoke up. 

“Who do you think shot me?” the ebony asked out of the blue. 

“... Is that a trick question?”

“Like, who and why did they shoot me? Was it because I’m the ward of Bruce?” Dick clarified, getting up from his boyfriend’s hold.

“Maybe, we won’t know until Batman finds something, it’s you guys who’re the detectives, not me,” Wally answered, sitting up as well.

“Yeah, I know that but… what if it wasn’t because of being the ward of Bruce,” Dick murmured, the gears in his head turning.

“What do you mean by that? You think that it’s Zucco?” Wally asked his boyfriend, trying to understand what the younger was thinking about. “But that’s impossible, he’s in prison.”

“Yeah, he is… But what if it’s because of my heritage,” Dick said in realization. “I need you to get my laptop!” 

Wally didn’t wait a second before speeding to grab the laptop on that was on the study table. He gave the thirteen-year-old his laptop and plopped himself to see what the younger was on about. 

Dick started to bring up tabs about the victims of the murders when he finally realized what connected them. 

“I know why I was attacked,” Dick said in shock. 

“What? How?” Wally asked, alert.

“I need to call Bruce,” Dick murmured to himself, ignoring his boyfriend’s question. He grabbed his cellphone on the nightstand beside him and started calling Bruce.

When Wally realized that his boyfriend was working on auto-pilot, he decided it was best to call Kaldur. 

“Kaldur?” the speedster yelled in the mind-link, which should be on all through-out the day. “Dick thinks he found the attacker or maybe just a clue.”

There was no reply from the leader for a minute before the redhead heard the Atlantean. “I’m on my way. Artemis, Superboy, Miss Martian, continue doing rounds. Superboy, cover my area.”

“On it,” Superboy answered.

Wally had to wait for the Atlantean while Dick was waiting for Bruce to answer. Just when Bruce answered the phone, Aqualad came in running. 

“Bruce, I think I have a clue on my attacker,” Dick said to the phone, not even waiting to hear from the billionaire. “Remember the mass murders that’s been happening but there was no connection between the victims? I think I found one, they’re all gypsies– or at least descendants of one.”

Wally’s eyes widened at what his boyfriend just said. Without warning, the redhead grabbed the laptop and started going through the tabs. Aqualad stood behind the speedster, reading over the redhead. All of the victims came from Romanian descendants or countries that gypsies have been staying at. All of them, gypsies. 

“Shoot,” Wally said under his breath.

“Yeah, I will,” Dick said to the phone. He promptly placed the phone back on the nightstand and let out a deep sigh. 

“Bruce says that I’ll be even in more house arrest if what I think is true. Guess I need to search for more movies or shows to watch,” the thirteen-year-old tried to joke but it was obviously forced. 

“We’ll protect you until the League finds this murderer,” Aqualad stepped up. 

“I know you will,” Dick reassured the leader. “But to think that I’m being targeted because of my heritage and not because of being a ward of a billionaire is unnerving.” 

Wally wanted to say something to comfort the younger but he couldn’t think of anything that would make Dick feel better. The speedster was about to give up when his stomach growled loudly. The two other occupants in the room turned to stare at the redhead, who was now becoming equally as red as his hair. 

“Anyone up for a snack?” the speedster asked sheepishly. 

Dick let out a small laugh and shook his head fondly at the speedster. “Yeah, I think I’m up for a quick snack.”

He was about to get up from bed when there was a knock from the door. Alfred came in, not even waiting for a reply, with a tray with snacks, mainly popcorn, hot chocolate, and some sandwiches. 

“Master Bruce called earlier that you and Master Wally were binge-watching movies so I brought some snacks for those and sandwiches in case if Master Wally is truly hungry,” the butler informed them, setting the tray by the bedside table. 

“Thanks, Alfred. You always know what I want,” Dick thanked the butler, smiling at the elder. 

Alfred let out a small smile and left the room. Aqualad then took his queue to leave as well. 

“I’ll be contacting the League on the possible lead, I’ll be thinking of a plan and discuss the new information to the team during dinner,” Kaldur said, stepping out the room. “I’ll leave you the two of you to finish your movie. Wally, contact us if anything happens.”

And with that, the leader left the room, leaving Wally and Dick once more. When the door shut closed, Wally took Dick’s hands without warning, staring straight into the younger’s eyes. 

“I’ll protect you from this madman,” Wally said seriously. “I’ll do whatever I can to keep you safe, even if it costs my life. You are my world and I can’t dare lose you.” 

The redhead kissed the younger’s hands softly, keeping it there for a while before placing it down and looking at Dick. 

The ebony smiled sadly at the redhead. “And I couldn’t dare make you waste your life because of something that you have no control over.”

Wally shook his head and stood up and pulled his boyfriend in a tight hug. “There won’t be a life for me to live without you by my side. We’ll get through this together, the League will find the murderer, trust me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the late update! I've been very busy and stressful cause of CETS and I just got back from taking the test for my dream college... yay... I'll try my best to update on time next month but... no promises :((


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I just wanted to make up for posting late last time so I decided to post this early! See you next month!

“Hey, there’s no rush,” Wally said as he stood beside the younger boy, his arms ready to catch him if he falls. 

“You’re hungry and so am I,” Dick pointed out as he continued to hobble down the stairs. “Plus you don’t have to be so worried, I was shot in the shoulder, not in the leg.”

“Doesn’t mean that you have enough energy to walk down three flights of stairs and won’t cause pain to your shoulder,” Wally retorted. 

As the two of them reached the bottom of the staircase, they walked into the dining room, seeing that the team was waiting for them before starting lunch. 

“Hey,” Dick greeted them with a smile and sat down at his usual spot with the speedster sitting down beside him.

“Hi,” Megan replied with a small smile, her face scrunched up in worry. “Are you sure it’s alright for you to be walking down for lunch? You seem to be in pain.”

Wally threw his hands up in exasperation and pointed to the Martian while looking at his boyfriend. “See?!”

Dick just rolled his eyes at his boyfriend and smiled at the worried Martian. “I’m fine Miss Martian, just a little tired.”

Wally groaned loudly and slumped even further in his chair. And that was when Alfred decided to enter the dining room. 

“Lunch will be served shortly, it seems we will expecting a guest,” the butler informed them. 

The teens started questioning who their guest will be when the doorbell rang and the butler went to answer the door, leaving the teens alone for a few minutes. 

“Guest? Who are we expecting?” Wally asked Dick who only shrugged in response. 

“No clue, can’t be Babs, she’s at school right now,” Dick answered. 

“Well, who else can it be?” Artemis asked. Her question was left unanswered when a young ebony boy ran in with Alfred trailing after him. 

“Dick!” the kid yelled, throwing himself on the thirteen-year-old.

“Tim!” Dick yelled in delight at his visitor. He quickly returned the hug and brought the younger so that he was sitting on his older’s lap. “What ya doing here, buddy? Don’t you have school?”

Tim looked at the older with a smile on his face and shook his head frantically. “Nope! A pipe burst in the bathroom so there are no classes today!”

“Wow! Good for you, buddy!” Dick replied, smiling brightly at the younger. 

“Can I stay here for the day?” Tim asked, sounding hopeful. 

“Of course! You can stay as long as you want,” Dick said, ruffling the hair of the seven-year-old. 

It was half an hour later with Tim curled up on Dick’s lap, the both of them watching some television when a loud crash upstairs caught them off guard.

“What was that?” Tim asked, suddenly wide-awake. 

“Stay here,” Dick said and left Tim on the sofa, knowing that Alfred would come and bring Tim to somewhere safe if ever. The thirteen-year-old ran towards the stairs, ignoring the pain in his shoulder. 

“Kid Flash?!” Dick yelled as he ran up the stairs and into the long hallways of the Manor. 

Next thing he knew, a door was knocked open and Wally, in his Kid Flash costume was thrown into the hallway. 

“Dick! Get out of here!” Kid Flash yelled as he was getting up. “It’s the mercenary!”

Kid Flash ran back in as the rest of the team came. 

“Superboy! Get Richard and Tim out of here!” Aqualad ordered, grabbing his water-bearers from their holster. 

Superboy didn’t waste a moment and scooped Dick up, carrying the thirteen-year-old princess style. 

“Hey!” Dick yelped. 

Superboy didn’t waste a second and started going down back to the living room. Just as Superboy was about to turn away from the hallway, Dick looked over the Kryptonian’s shoulder and saw the rest of the team enter the room the redhead speedster disappeared to. 

All of a sudden another masked vigilante crashed into one of the windows of the manor behind the Kryptonian and acrobat. The masked man turned to look at the thirteen-year-old and leaped into action, drawing out his gun and started shooting. 

Superboy started running faster and leaped off the edge of the staircase. Alfred and Tim seemed to have already evacuated. 

“Turn right!” Dick yelled at the clone. 

The super looked at the younger in his arms but followed nonetheless. 

“There’s a secret exit leading to the forest in the library,” Dick said. When Superboy reached the library, he set the younger down and started to barricade the door. 

“There’s a secret door here somewhere,” Dick said as he started to pull some books from the shelf and returned them when nothing happened. “Help me look for the book on this shelf.”

Superboy nodded and started helping the boy. “Why can’t I just rip off the shelf?” 

Dick ignored the urge to roll his eyes as he started to look at any book that looked out of place. “If you rip off the shelf and the attackers come in here, they’ll see how we escaped.”

“This seems…” Dick murmured. He pulled out a red leather book and the shelf clicked open. “Here!” 

The thirteen-year-old ran in followed by Superboy ran into the hallway, closing the shelf shut. The two of them started to walk through the dark hallways in silence. 

“Do you have any idea if the rest of the team is okay?” Dick asked breaking the silence. 

“Uh, yeah, just wait,” Superboy said. 

The two of them continued to walk through the damp hallways while Superboy tried to contact the team. The hallway suddenly split into three, with the two of them going down the rightmost hallway. 

“The two attackers seem to have been taken down but Aqualad says that they need to search the whole manor if there may be others hiding about,” Superboy said. “No one seems to be hurt.” 

Dick sighed in relief as they came across the end of the hallway. A ladder leading up to the surface with a manhole covering the top. 

“I’ll go first,” Superboy said as he pushed Dick a bit away. The super jumped with all his strength to remove the old cover. 

Once the Kryptonian landed on the ground, he didn’t even have a second before the sound of a gun cocking was heard. He turned to see a woman aiming the gun at his head, both Alfred and Tim at her back. 

“Don’t move.”


	14. Chapter 14

“Don’t move.” 

Superboy stood still, his eyes watching over the woman who’s gun was directly aimed at his face while making sure Dick stayed didn’t start climbing up. 

“Wait!” Tim yelled, grabbing the woman’s arm and started tugging on it as if she wasn’t holding an armed weapon. “That’s Superboy! He’s part of the team Bruce hired to guard Dick!” 

The woman looked at the seven-year-old boy and slowly lowered her gun. “Superboy huh,” she said as she looked the clone over. “Kryptonian then, you can help us out, where’s Richard.”

“Here!” Dick yelled as he popped up from the underground escape. “How’d you get here so fast, Selina? And why the gun?” 

The woman, now identified as Selina, sighed and placed her gun back in their holsters. “Saw three people hightailing it to the manor, managed to get there in time as one of them attacked poor Timmy and Alfred and the gun was from Alfred, I was never one to use a gun.”

Dick nodded and turned to Tim and Alfred, looking over them for any visible injuries. “Are you guys okay?”

“We escaped unharmed, Master Richard,” Alfred answered, looking slightly relieved at the sight of his young ward.

“That’s good,” Dick said as he went to carry Tim, placing the younger around his hips. “How about the other servant and guards?”

“They servants are hiding on the other side of the manor, as of the guards, they are patrolling the area for where the assailants could have entered,” Selina said looking down at her phone. “Seems like your Daddy’s on his way home from the airport, he’ll be here in a while.”

Selina pocketed the phone and turned to look at Superboy, the clone keeping silent the whole time. “I suggest you contact your little team of heroes and tell them there should only be three assailants, they could handle it for themselves. Tell us when the three are down, then we can head back.”

Superboy nodded and walked, pressing the communicator in his ear. 

‘Must be out of distance from Miss M,’ Dick thought as he hugged Tim.

“Do you know any group or person that disliked gypsies?” Dick asked Selina.

The older woman raised an eyebrow but shook her head. “Gypsies? Not so sure ‘bout that, doesn’t really come up during my conversations with the others. Why?”

“Remember all the random murders and attacks that’s been happening all over Gotham?” Dick asked as he noticed that Superboy was walking back to them.

“Yeah, it’s been all over the news, even Batman and Robin can’t seem to connect what the connections between the murders are,” Selina nodded. 

“Well, during my research, I realized that maybe I wasn’t just some random person who was shot,” Dick said. “What if it had nothing to do with being the ward of Bruce but because of my blood.”

“Wait, so all these murders and attacks are because of their blood?” Seline asked, alert.

“Exactly, I did some background check on those who were attacked and murdered, all of them came from a gypsy background, just like me,” Dick said. 

“Did you tell your father?” Selina asked, making sure her gun was still in its holster. 

“Yeah, that’s why he’s coming back, I think he told the Commissioner as well but I’m not so sure,” Dick answered. “How're things with the team, Superboy? Everything all right?”

“Yeah, they said they tied up the three assailants but Kid Flash said that they’re still patrolling the area,” Superboy answered.

Dick rolled his eyes and chuckled. “We should probably head back, it’s better being in the manor than being out here in the open.”

Dick started walking back with Tim in his arms, the younger resting his head on his shoulder, not talking. Dick was thankful that Tim didn’t seem to pry on the problem, the kid was smart for his age, knowing that Dick didn’t want to talk. 

Dick didn’t slow down when Seline, Alfred, and Superboy didn’t start walking immediately. Instead, he set Tim down on the ground when he felt the younger tug on his sleeves, wanting to walk on his own. 

“Why can’t we use the tunnel?” Superboy asked, following the four. 

 

“Timmy here has asthma, the dust in the tunnels might make it hard for him to breath,” Dick answered, ahead of the group. Tim pouted while clutching the thirteen-year-old’s hand but said nothing. 

They walked a few kilometers when Dick and Superboy froze, stopping in place. 

“Stay behind me Tim,” Dick said as he pushed the younger behind him. 

“Why? What’s wrong?” the seven-year-old asked, worried. 

“We’re not alone,” Dick said as Selina pulled out her gun. “Alfred? Do you still keep that pocket knife with you?”

“Always, sir,” Alfred said, pulling out not one but two pocket knives. “But I suggest I hold on to it, sir. You are still flimsy with it.”

“Of course,” Dick said, a small smile on his face as he looked around the trees. 

Without warning, Superboy launched himself on a tree, disappearing from sight. 

“You’re quite a hard one to catch, Richard.”

Dick turned quickly to the sound of the voice, only to see no one there. He ignored Tim’s clutching his shirt even tighter, the younger burying his face on his back.

“But don’t worry, we’ll clean this world from your treacherous spell.”

“Who are you?!” Dick yelled, pushing Tim towards Alfred. Seline ready to shoot at the mystery person. 

“Just a group of people wanting to freed from your spell.”

“Spell? What spell?” Dick said as he pressed his emergency communicator. “Just because I’m from a gypsy family doesn’t mean anything!”

“Oh, but it does, it means everything.”

“What are you hoping to achieve? Are you here to kill me?”

“We’ve been watching over you, Richard. Don’t you think it’s time for a birdie’s wings to be cut?” 

“Dick!”

Dick turned to see Kid Flash running towards him. 

“KF?” Dick said, shocked. He then felt a small prick on his neck, his legs suddenly feeling weak then nothing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I honestly don't know where this story is going to, this is going in a whole new direction to the original plan hahahahahaha so I guess we'll both be in a ride!


	15. Chapter 15

Waking up with your hands tied behind you back never meant anything good. Dick groaned from his tied up place on the floor, his body aching and screaming in agony. What happened? Oh right, they were ambushed not only in the manor but in the forest as well. 

“Seems like our guest has awoken.”

Dick gasped as someone kicked his stomach, making him flip to his back. The blinding light set directly above him shined bright, blinding him. 

“Pathetic, he’ll die just like the rest.”

Dick tried to focus on his surroundings. Only one light was open, the light shining above him. Cemented floors, closed space, not that windy outside. Ten, there were ten people in the room, five of them armed. One with a metal bat, three had small steel handguns and another one with a crowbar. Wally would have made a comment on him using his powers like he was the Avatar or Toph at the very least but he would haven’t been wrong, using his powers like that was something he did without others knowing, really made things easier. 

“Prepare the equipment! It’s time for the cleansing to begin.”

-0-0-0-0-0-0-

“What do you mean you were ambushed?!” Bruce yelled.

Selina rolled her eyes as Alfred continued to wrap her injured shoulder. “We were ambushed, what else is there to say? Attacked us when we thought we were clear and thought there were no more.”

“But how did they win against a Kryptonian?” Bruce said through clenched teeth.

“They didn’t, at least not physically,” Selina sighed as Alfred finished up and stood up and left, leaving the two of them alone. “They knew about you hiring the team and distracted the boy with high static noises, loud enough to make him collapse because of his super hearing.”

Selina sighed once more and stood up, standing beside the brooding man. “Superboy might be strong for being Kryptonian but that doesn’t mean he’s invincible. I’ll go check on the team and Timmy. Come join us when you’re better.”

Bruce stood there, his fists clenched by his side until he heard the door shut close, leaving him alone in his study room. 

-0-0-0-0-0-0-

Wally felt the couch dip but didn’t look up, his hands combing through Tim’s hair, the seven-year-old sleeping with his head on the speedster’s lap. 

“We’ll find him,” Artemis said, not looking at the redhead. None of them have the courage nor strength to argue or do anything.

“You don’t know that,” Wally replied. 

“Since when was it so easy for you to lose hope?” Artemis turned to him. “I may not have been there throughout the whole simulation but I know for a fact that you grabbed that small simmer of hope that those zapped was transported and not dead, you take those small simmers of hope and hold it tight in your heart so why now?”

“Because he could be dead!” Wally snapped at the archer. “Because he said that those after him are killers that have been killing countless people in Gotham because of their heritage whether they know it or not! What makes them not killing him any different?!” 

The two of them froze when Tim whimpered and turned in his sleep. Wally sighed, continuing running his fingers through the dark locks. The two of them sat in silence before a knock was heard by the door. The two heroes looked up to see Miss Martian standing by the door frame. 

“Aqualad said that we should discuss what happened earlier and what we should do,” Miss Martian said, her voice soft and raw from the crying she did. 

Wally nodded and grabbed one of the pillows off the couch and quickly replaced his lap with it. When Tim didn’t move and snuggled deeper into the pillow, he followed his teammate back to the living room. 

Aqualad and Superboy were seated across from one another and talking quietly to one another when the three of them entered. Miss Martian floating and taking a seat beside Superboy, taking comfort from one another. Artemis seating down beside the Atlantean and Wally taking the single seat. 

“Why do we need to have a briefing? We failed and Dick is gone,” Wally muttered under his breath. 

“Because the mission isn’t completely over so stop mopping around,” Superboy glared at the redhead. 

“Says the person who let them get away with it,” Wally snarled, the two of them glaring at one another. 

“Enough,” Aqualad said before any of them can continue on. “Superboy is right, the mission isn’t over, there is still a chance we can get Richard back.” 

“Aqualad, you heard what Dick said, these are killers going after heritage not some kidnappers after some money, for all we know Dick could be dead,” Wally saying the same thing he told Artemis a couple of minutes ago.

“Please don’t say that, Wally,” Miss Martian whimpered, her hands fisting up as tears gathered in her eyes once more. 

“I know but that doesn’t mean that we should lose hope, we still have no proof or evidence to say that Richard is dead if we find him and get to him on time maybe we have a chance to save him,” Aqualad said. 

Wally just sighed but didn’t say anything. The five of them sat in silence, not really knowing what to say.

“Wow, this must be the first time I saw loverboy over here so depressed.”

The team looked up and saw Selina walking over to where they were seated. Wally still said nothing and turned to look down on the ground once more. 

“You meant the world to Dick,” Selina said all of a sudden. “I remember the nights where he got lost rambling about a certain speedster when he was younger and how he was an unstoppable force for a month when he got together with the said speedster. And now I have the chance to meet the speedster only to see that he’s given up on him.”

The team turned to Wally and saw how his hands were clenched tightly into fists but yet didn’t utter even a single word. 

“Is this the hero that Dick has been praising since he was nine?” Selina said, her eyes locked on the redhead. 

The speedster stayed silent for a few minuted before finally speaking up. 

“The person who ambushed me said that they believed in a pure world where everything was peaceful but it isn’t. They said it was the gypsies who are at fault, he called them literal demons brought to the world to cause mayhem and destruction. The reason why people are tempted and commit crimes and unlawful things. They were beings, creatures that tricked people with their magic and allure to love them and see them as good. So they want to get rid of them, he said they are saving the world. Some crap about freeing us all.”

Artemis nodded, “That’s what I was told as well when I interrogated them. Righteous justice, one of them said.”

“We need to contact the League, this is something far bigger than I think any of them had thought,” Aqualad said, standing up.

“No need.”

They all turned and looked to see Bruce walking down the stairs. “I have already contacted them about Dick and about the murders here in Gotham. Commissioner Gordon has been notified as well.”

“Bruce–” Selina said but was cut off by the billionaire. 

“It is alright, Selina, I am fine,” Bruce sighed. “I just want Dick safe and home.”

“And he will, sir,” Aqualad said. “We have some leads from where they are from and from there we can find where they have taken Richard.”

“Don’t make promises you can’t keep,” Bruce said, looking at the Alteantean straight in the eye. 

All of a sudden Alfred came in from the kitchen, the butler looking troubled. 

“There is something that you need to see, Master Bruce.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is seriously the latest chapter I have so I'm sorry in advance if the next chapter looks rushed or contains more errors (cause I'm pretty sure there are errors in my story) and if it would be uploaded late :(( Merry Christmas in advance!


	16. Christmas Special

“Hey, Wally?” Dick suddenly asked breaking the silence between them. The two of them sat together with the younger leaning on the redhead’s side, the two of them sharing a big fluffy blanket Aunt Iris got for Wally. 

“Yeah?” Wally looked at his boyfriend, trying to take glimpses of the zombie movie they were watching.

“You said before that you would do anything to date me right?” the thirteen-year-old suddenly brought up, his voice a bit serious. That instantly got the redhead’s attention, the movie now playing forgotten.

“Yeah, why? Something wrong?” Wally started questioning suddenly feeling worried. “Am I not treating you right? Is there something you want me to do? I know we haven’t been going out for that long but is it because I haven’t been asking you out on more dates? Am I—”

“Nothing! You’re treating me just right, our hangouts are already enough,” Dick said, trying to stop his boyfriend from worrying any further. “It’s just that Bruce and Alfred want you over for our Christmas dinner and stay the night over.”

“Oh,” Wally said, not yet fully understanding what Dick was saying. “But I’m not mistreating you right?”

The ebony laughed and snuggled further into the redhead’s side, continuing to watch the movie. Wally would realize what he said in a few minutes or so. 

Five more minutes into the movie was when Wally suddenly realized what the younger just said. 

“WAIT, WHAT?!” The speedster yelled, nearly falling off the couch. 

-0-0-0-0-0-0-

“Are you on your way?” Dick asked his boyfriend over his cellphone. It was the week after he told the speedster that he was invited for dinner and to stay the night at the manor. The whole week leading up to this day included Wally asking him a lot of questions about what Bruce likes and dislikes and that Dick should just kill him instead since he was already digging his grave. 

“Dude, what if I mess up, he’s the goddam Batman!” Wally yelled in agony. 

“And that’s why he won’t kill you, Batman doesn’t kill,” the ebony tried to comfort his boyfriend but suddenly smirked. “But that doesn’t mean Alfred doesn’t.”

When he heard the redhead’s groan, he chuckled. “Don’t worry, the two of them know what you’re like, just act like you normally would or they’ll know that you’re sucking up for them.”

“That’s the point, Dick! I’m supposed to suck up to them!” Wally groaned. “I really don’t wanna mess this up.”

“Hey,” the thirteen-year-old said, noticing the sudden change of mood from his boyfriend. “No matter what they think of you and our relationship, I won’t care. I love you and I love this relationship we have, I would never change this for the world.”

Wally was silent for a minute before sighing. “You always know what to say to cheer me up. Love you too, I’ll be there in a flash.”

Dick chuckled as he heard the speedster end the call. The ebony quickly tossed his jacket on and ran as fast as he could to the living room without going too fast for Alfred to get mad. 

“Is he on his way?” Bruce asked as he helped Alfred set up the plates and utensils. 

“Yup, he’ll be here in a second or so,” Dick replied when there was sudden knocking on the door. “And that would most like be him right now, I’ll go answer the door.”

The thirteen-year-old opened the front door only for a bouquet of carnations to be shoved up in his face.

“Woah! Okay,” Dick yelped before taking the flowers and admiring them. “Thanks for the flowers, love. But why carnations?” he asked as he looked at his boyfriend softly.

Wally started rubbing the back of his neck in an awkward gesture. “Well, I remember our conversation about flower language and one of the few flowers that don’t have any symbol for death are carnations and you said that carnations meant pride and beauty and I think it’s a great match for you.”

Dick chuckled and kissed the redhead on the cheeks, “You didn’t have to.”

“I know,” Wally said looking over at the younger’s shoulder to where Alfred and Bruce were watching the whole ordeal by the doorframe of the dinning before dropping his voice to a whisper. “Plus I kinda ran around the world to delay more and just had a quick stop at Spain before seeing a small flower shop,” the redhead amended.

“Of course you did, let’s go to the dining, can’t keep Bruce and Alfred waiting,” Dick said fully aware that his two guardians were snooping in their conversations before leading Wally to the dining room with the two adults already in their place in the dining room, with Bruce sitting in the head of the table and Alfred standing by the doors to the kitchen. 

“Master Richard, Master Wallace, Merry Christmas,” Alfred said in acknowledgment. 

“Merry Christmas, Alfred!” Dick greeted back with a huge smile on his face. Wally squeaked out a greeting as well though more on the scared side than the joyful side.

Dinner went by quietly with Wally looking on edge the whole time and flinching with every sound of the minute hand moving. Dick was about to bring Wally to his room when Bruce coughed to get their attention, causing the poor speedster to become ten times paler. 

“Thank you for joining us today for dinner, Wallace. I expect you two to be on your best behavior tonight,” Bruce said looking at the speedster pointedly with a glare that surpasses the fear that the Batglare gives.

“Yes sir, of course, sir!” the ginger said blushing heavily before grabbing the thirteen-year-old and speeding to the younger’s bedroom, the thought of Alfred killing him for using his speed in the house at the very back of his mind at that moment. 

Dick would retell this story to whoever asked how his Christmas went and laugh at the misery of his boyfriend as said boyfriend complained that he will never eat dinner at the Manor where everyone there could kill him without anyone knowing. And yet, every time Bruce asked him to eat with them, he would go every time no matter how many times he cursed and complained to the younger.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I want to be completely honest here but the reason as to why this chapter exists is cause I'm currently stuck with the next chapter and don't even know how to continue with it at the moment cause everything just went differently than the original plot that I made before so I don't know what to do right now. Like I know how I want the story to end but I don't know what to do right now with how I left the story and what's happening in it. In short, the next chapter might come out late or I might have to put this story on hold or worst comes to shove, discontinue it. I just find myself dreading to continue writing this story, the joy and spark I felt slowly died and I hate that so much. I hate how I see this story more as an obligation to finish it rather than a passion. So if you guys have any comments or suggestions, those would help me a lot. Thanks.


	17. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back!
> 
> ... Well, I wasn't gone, it was just that this book was on hiatus... more to say at the end notes!

Wally felt like he was having flashbacks to the time Artemis barged into the room, telling him and Dick to change the channel to the news but only this time it was different.

“- and to purify this world from these monsters, we need to cut off the source of the evil.”

Too different.

“What are we watching, Alfred?” Bruce asked as he watched the masked man on the television, his hands fisted tightly by his side. 

“All channels seem to be hijacked, sir. This is live broadcasting all over Gotham,” Alfred answered.

“Yes! To purify the world, we need to cleanse the cursed blood from the demons that roam on the streets, that live and prey on us,” the man continued. “Those demons fooled us all to follow and act on their treacherous ways and desires, making us believe they are the same. But this marks the day where the whole world would know of them! One by one I hunted and tracked down these demons, these monsters, and I’ve killed them. I will be the one to carry the burden by killing off the cursed blood. Ending it with the most successful of them all! Ladies and Gentlemen, I present to you, Richard Grayson.”

The man did a dramatic bow, moving to the side to reveal Dick tied and blindfolded on a metal chair, a single light directly above him. 

Miss Martian gasped, tears starting to form around her eyes. Artemis clutched the armrest in a death hold, both Aqualad and Superboy tensing and staring at the television with calculated and cold eyes. Bruce’s grip on the remote tightens, his fist turning pure white and Selina placing a hand on his shoulder. 

“No, no, nononono,” Wally said, shaking his head wildly as he stared unbelievingly at the screen. “Please, no, not him, anything but this.”

“The Golden Boy of Gotham,” the ringmaster sneered from behind the camera. “A gypsy, carrier of the cursed blood that causes nothing but mass destruction, fooling us all with his fake acts of kindness. Today marks the day where we take back our peaceful ways, ending it with this gypsy right here.”

-0-0-0-0-0-0-

Tied to a metal chair, about to be killed off in front of live television, seems about right with his luck. The last few minutes went by as a blur, one moment he was on the ground, the next he was dragged, bound, and blindfolded, and now being introduced as a demon for the world to see be killed. 

As the leader of the group started giving his speech, Dick was busy trying to identify more on the surrounding areas. The rope binding him wasn’t as thick as he thought it was, he could easily break it. If he was Robin that is, there was no way that Dick Grayson could break through the rope and break free on his own from his captors.

Just when he was about to think of how long he was knocked out and how long the leader was going on about “cleansing the world”, Dick suddenly felt a punch in the gut, making him cough from the shock. Bruce was running out of time. Where was Wally? Where were they?

Another punch to the ribs this time snapped him out of his darkening thoughts. Right, he was kidnapped and being held hostage.

“Nothing but a creature whose bloodline will continue to poison the world,” the ringmaster said, venom dripping in his words. The man spat on the floor beside him, looking down on him with disgust and pure distaste before turning back to the camera, acting nonchalant, shrugging. “Oh, don’t get me wrong, I don’t have anything with all gypsies, just specific ones.”

His blood turned to ice, the man specifically wanted him then. If his family were still alive would this man go after them as well? How specific does this man mean?

As if reading his mind, the ringmaster turned to him again with a face splitting smile that reminded him of the Joker.

“So specific I’ve traced it starting with ancestors up to people who don’t even know they have gypsy blood flowing through them,” the ringmaster laughed. “But you, you know, you know you have gypsy blood, still flows strong in you and your family. Comical isn’t it? The bloodline that has one of the strongest connections up to this age is the adopted son of a billionaire? Coincidence?”

Without a warning, the man grabbed his neck and threw him hard on the ground, causing him to yell in pain his arms taking the burnt of the slam, the metal chair cutting into his arms. Before he can recover, the man lifted him by his neck, cutting off his air supply.

“So tell me Golden Boy, how well do you actually think you’re fooling everyone?” the maniacal man growled, his grip tightening. “Which one do you have?”

Dick couldn’t help but gasp in pain, the last remaining air he had now gone. The ropes tying his arms down to the chair binding him from prying the hand off his throat. When darkness started to creep up to his vision, feeling his eyes about to roll at the back of his head, the man eased his grip. 

“Pathetic,” the ringmaster sneered.

Dick coughed, sucking as much air as he can, his vision blurring as tears pricked his eyes at the sudden relief of air in his lungs. The ringmaster continued to stare at him in distaste, his grip on his throat still there as a warning, a threat to answer and comply, his body still bound to the chair being lifted up by his throat, his toes barely touching the ground.

But even if it were just his toes touching the ground, the thirteen-year-old could already feel the vibrations from the ground, vibrations that only he could feel– a speedster’s running.

“Sir! We lost the connection!” one of the men yelled from behind a computer, the red light of the camera turning off.

“What?!” the ringmaster yelled in anger, dropping Dick.

The thirteen-year-old landed with a grunt, his ankle yelled in protest when he fell on them first. Laying on the ground, he could feel more vibrations, running and jumping from nearby warehouses, drawing closer, and the vibrations of the speedster, ever so close.

Without a warning, there was an explosion as the huge door of the warehouse burst open and the speedster was there beside him in an instant, turning him over and freeing him from the chair.

“It’s okay, everything is okay now,” Kid Flash murmured, pulling him close. “You can go to sleep now.”

Knowing he was safe, Dick nodded before the world around him turned dark. The last thing he heard was a small whimper of someone whispering to him.

“I’m so sorry.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! It's been a while since I've updated this book. Not sure if all of you saw my message since I just deleted them earlier but I placed this book on hold but after writing a few chapters already and organizing my thoughts and ideas, now with a plot all sorted out, all the way to the end of this book, I think I can finally start updating again monthly like usual. Honestly, I'm scared I'll get writer's block again and would have to place this book in hiatus but the plot guides I made is definitely making this whole thing easier to do.
> 
> Thank you all for the love and support, for reminding me that I shouldn't force myself to write, to give my self a break, and to write at my own pace :))
> 
> Also, I just wanted to say that I started an Insta (@lost_in_a_dream_7) so you guys can check it out get a notification when I update any of my works :))
> 
> Hope all of you stay safe especially during times like these. Love you all!


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